Senator Grassley requests (again)

I will try to omit continued professions of difficulty keeping up with the true scandals surrounding the fabricated scandal of Trump-Russia collusion, or of disbelief over the bureaucratic obstruction that amounts to defiance when oversight beckons. In the spirit of Ciceronian praeteritio and rhetorical disgust, I wonder how long the authorities at the Department of Justice can abuse the patience of the Senate with their continued resistance? We have grown inured by repetition, but please see Byron York’s Examiner column “A skeptical chairman Grassley really, really wants to see the Michael Flynn 302.” Byron reports:

Last month, Grassley, this time without Feinstein, repeated his demand for the Flynn transcript, and also for the FBI’s so-called 302 report, in which the agents who interviewed Flynn made extensive notes on what was said. Grassley also asked for any other notes or documents relating to the interview. And Grassley asked that the FBI make available agent Joe Pientka, one of the two agents (along with Peter Strzok) who conducted the Flynn interview.

Again, the Justice Department refused, and this time with more than a hint of impatience. In a May 29, 2018, letter to Grassley, assistant attorney general Stephen Boyd recounted details of the Flynn plea deal at length and delivered what boiled down to a simple message: Flynn pleaded guilty. You understand? He’s guilty. Now stop bugging us.

“Whatever Mr. Comey may have said and whatever Mr. Flynn’s demeanor,” wrote Boyd to Grassley, “the evidence in the public record proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr. Flynn knowingly made false statements about contacts with the Russian ambassador.” Referring to the Flynn case as a “pending criminal prosecution” — Flynn is currently awaiting sentencing — Boyd said turning over evidence to Congress could create “the reality or appearance of political interference.”

Senator Grassley has set forth the relevant facts and responded in the June 6 letter that occasions Byron’s column. I have embedded the letter below via Scribd. Consider my incredulity implied.